Go Back
–+ servings
Print
Cold Asian Noodles with Peanut Sauce, Chicken and Vegetables

Cold Asian Noodles with Peanut Sauce, Chicken and Vegetables

Inspired by Harumi Kurihara, Elizabeth Andoh and Hiroko Kimbo. This dish represents Asian home cooking, while staying true to the principles of Washoku cooking (by incorporating a variety of colors in this dish, and using different cooking methods). Inspired by Shiroki Kimbo, who I watched at a cooking demonstration, I tried my best to cut my vegetables and the egg crepe as finely as possible.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Poached Chicken

  • 1 pound boneless chicken breast or thighs
  • 1/2 onion peeled
  • One 1" piece of ginger peeled and cut into thin slices
  • 1 garlic clove smashed
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds optional
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorn seeds
  • 1 tablespoon sake or rice wine

Peanut Sauce

  • 1/4-1/3 cup chicken stock from poaching the chicken
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter or other nut or seed butter
  • 2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon organic sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons minced ginger
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic

Noodles

  • 8 ounces Asian rice noodles I used Vietnamese size small rice noodles
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil

Egg Crepe (optional)

  • 1 teaspoon flavorless oil
  • 1 egg

Additional Toppings

  • cucumber peeled, julienned
  • red bell pepper julienned
  • toasted sesame seeds for garnish
  • minced scallions for garnish
  • hot chili bean pasta for serving, optional

Instructions

Poached Chicken

  1. Place chicken in a medium saucepan. Add water to immerse chicken completely. Remove chicken from water and place on a plate. Add onion, ginger, garlic, coriander seeds and black peppercorn seeds to water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
  2. Add sake and chicken and bring to a boil. Once liquid boils, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, covered. Turn off heat and let pot sit on stovetop for another 15 minutes.
  3. Remove chicken from pot and let cool to room temperature. Shred using your fingers. Reserve. Strain chicken stock and reserve.

Peanut Sauce

  1. Combine 1/4 cup chicken stock, peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, and garlic in a bowl, and whisk until smooth. It is easier to incorporate all the ingredients if you use warm broth. The Peanut Sauce will thicken as it sits or if it is refrigerated, so add more broth if you need to thin the sauce out.

Noodles

  1. Cook rice noodles according to package instructions. Do not overcook or noodles will become mushy. Rinse well with cold water and drain. Drizzle sesame oil on top and toss gently. This will help keep noodles from sticking to each other.

Egg Crepe

  1. Heat oil in a small omelette pan over medium heat. Beat egg gently and add to pan, swirling egg around to thinly coat bottom of pan. When bottom is set, about 1-2 minutes, flip omelette over and cook other side for another minute. Remove to a cutting board and cut into thin strips.

To Serve

  1. Divide noodles among four bowls. Arrange poached chicken, red bell pepper, egg omelette and cucumber on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with Peanut Sauce and Hot Chili Bean Sauce, if desired.

Recipe Notes

Peanut Sauce adapted from Harumi Kurihara's Steamed Chicken Salad with Sesame Sauce recipe. Harumi microwaves her chicken and uses more sugar in her recipe than I did.